The .223 is the worst rifle
cartridge I've ever tried to reload. I'm going to take
a guess that it's not the base. This cartridge gives me fits with
upper
dimensions of the case and the shoulder.

I am ready to begin reloading my first 5.56/.223 cartridges (dies
are .223). I just started lurking, using the search function: <223
crimp>.
This is what I read. Made me laugh. Dillon has a machined case
sizer. I assume that if it meets tolerance, it should chamber in an
AR15 chamber, correct?

Turbo1889 nailed it. Most problems with .223 are from not
having the die set correctly. For some reason the .223 is not
forgiving if the die is not set per the directions. Follow the
directions on the die setup exactly and most problems will go
away. Another thing that helps is lubrication on the inside neck.

After reloading for 40 years the .223 gave me fits. I kept
getting loaded rounds that would only enter the chamber 3/4 of
the way and refuse to go any further.

As Turbo mentioned I think it's because the case is so small.

__________________The 6 gun was once as common as the cellphone is today, and just as annoying when it went off in the theater.

Loaded tons of this caliber for a fine old Armalite AR180
back in the 90's. Never a hitch. Today loading for an
AR15 and still no issues. Shucks, I even load many once
fired & trimmed with a 310 tong tool and use .222Rem
dies. Still no issues. Either I'm not doing it right or I
need to get me a progressive so I can have some jams!

__________________"I am not politically correct. I don't apologise for being American. I stand by my country and have no use for anyone who does not."

Loaded tons of this caliber for a fine old
Armalite AR180
back in the 90's. Never a hitch. Today loading for an
AR15 and still no issues. Shucks, I even load many once
fired & trimmed with a 310 tong tool and use .222Rem
dies. Still no issues. Either I'm not doing it right or I
need to get me a progressive so I can have some jams!

I wish I could say that. Wasn't till I reset the die that things fell into
place. Used a Rock Chucker and had to pay a lot of attention to the
shoulder before I got ammo that would chamber every time.

__________________The 6 gun was once as common as the cellphone is today, and just as annoying when it went off in the theater.

Most bench loading here is with an ancient Lyman Spar-T
rotary press. When dialed in it remains fairly solid.
More super precise stuff is done on an even older Spartan
press. Ain't nuthin new or über hi-tech around here.

Back to the topic. I'm actually astounded that folks are
having issues with the .223Rem. To me, it's a snap to
load. Keep em trimmed and clean, and go to town loading
em. I always thought of this round as the easiest bottle
neck cartridge to load.

__________________"I am not politically correct. I don't apologise for being American. I stand by my country and have no use for anyone who does not."

I think a good portion of the issues come
from trying to quantity load the 223 like
it were a pistol cartridge on a
progressive or auto indexing turrent
press.

That is where the issues I had with it
initially came from. Treat it like the
bottle neck rifle cartridge it is from the
get go and you avoid a lot of problems.

Not to say you can't/shouldn't load for
quantity on such a press you just can't
make the mental error of going into pistol
cartridge loading mind set because of it's
small size compared to other bottleneck
rifle cartridges. If you do make that
mental mistake it can really come around
and bite you in the arse when you find out
the bucket load of ammo you spent hours
loading won't chamber! Been there done
that, don't want a repeat!

Edited by turbo1889 on April 01 2018 at 5:27am

__________________What part of, "the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be INFRINGED" don't you understand ?!?!?

To the most serious charge of "ARMING WOMEN" I plead guilty on multiple counts.

Die instructions tell you to drop the ram and turn the die down a certain amount more, such as 1/4 to 1/2 turn. I measured the amount of play my presses had with a feeler gauge set and found that they aren't all the same so just adjusting them a certain amount may not remove it from every press. I adjust my die down until the ram won't cam over then adjust it up until it barely does.

I'm not saying everyone should do it this way, as I don't for every rifle I own, but it does make them work for problematic auto loaders.

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